MJA
MJA

A comparison of the distribution of Medical Research Future Fund grants with disease burden in Australia

Stephen E Gilbert, Rachelle Buchbinder, Ian A Harris and Christopher G Maher
Med J Aust 2021; 214 (3): . || doi: 10.5694/mja2.50916
Published online: 15 February 2021

The disability burden of non‐fatal disease is not reflected in allocation of grants

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) has become an increasingly important part of health and medical research funding in Australia. In the 2019–20 federal budget the Australian Government announced $5 billion of research funding over a 10‐year period.1 In comparison, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) awarded $923 million in funding in the 2019 funding round.2 An important difference between the NHMRC and MRFF funding schemes is that MRFF grants are usually targeted within funding initiatives. For example, in 2019 there was a $20 million call for ovarian cancer research under the Emerging Priorities and Consumer‐Driven Research Initiative.

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